Written Answers Friday 8 June 2007

Scottish Executive

Bridges

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average daily traffic flow over the Erskine Bridge was in each of the 12 months (a) before and (b) after the removal of tolls.

Stewart Stevenson: The annual average daily (traffic) flow for the 12 month period prior to the removal of tolls (April 2005 to March 2006) was 27,024.

  The annual average daily flow for the twelve month period following removal of the tolls (April 2006 to March 2007) was 34,019.

Bridges

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average daily traffic flow over the Skye Bridge was in each of the (a) 12 months (i) before and (ii) after the removal of tolls and (b) last 12 months.

Stewart Stevenson: The annual average daily traffic flow for the twelve months (December 2003 to November 2004) prior to the removal of tolls was 2,480.

  The annual average daily traffic flow for the twelve months (December 2004 to November 2005) following removal of the tolls was 3,294.

  The annual average daily traffic flow for the most recent twelve month period (June 2006 to May 2007) was 3,415.

Bridges

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average daily traffic flow for the Tay Road Bridge was in each four-monthly period in 2006.

Stewart Stevenson: The average daily traffic flows for the Tay Road Bridge are a matter for the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board.

  However, the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board has informed the Scottish Executive that the average daily traffic flows (southbound only) for each quarter during 2006 were:

  

Quarter (2006)
Flow (Southbound Only)


January – March
11,421


April – June
12,665


July – September
12,866


October – December
12,207

Bridges

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what latest information it has on the average daily traffic flow for the Tay Road Bridge in 2007.

Stewart Stevenson: The latest information on the average daily traffic flows for the Tay Road Bridge in 2007 is a matter for the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board.

  However, the Tay Road Bridge Joint Board has provided the Scottish Executive with the average daily traffic figure (south bound only) covering the period 1 January 2007 to 31 May 2007.

  The average daily traffic flow (south bound only) for this period is 12,157.

Business Tax

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the revenue cost would be of reducing business rates by (a) 5%, (b) 10%, (c) 15% and (d) 20%.

John Swinney: In 2007-08, if the poundage rate had been lower than the current poundage rate by (a) 5%, (b) 10%, (c) 15% and (d) 20%, the estimated reduction in revenue would have been (a) £95 million, (b) £189 million, (c) £284 million and (d) £379 million respectively.

Concessionary Travel

Ian McKee (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to extend the national concessionary travel scheme to include night bus services.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Executive has no current plans to extend the national concessionary travel schemes for older and disabled people and for young people to include night bus services. These schemes are due to be reviewed in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

Council of Economic Advisers

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will invite trade unions to be represented on its council of economic advisers.

John Swinney: The First Minister will make a further statement to Parliament on the council’s role and membership before the summer recess.

Digital Technology

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will enable broadband technology to be available to the community of Ewes, near Langholm, and, if so, how and when this will be accomplished.

Jim Mather: Broadband is available to over 99% of Scottish households. We are now consulting with the public and potential suppliers on options for extending access even further and a budget of £3.5 million is currently available for this. Once this stage is complete, I intend to outline the solutions we propose to adopt.

Employment

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to encourage flexi-working and homeworking.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government already has fully developed policies on flexible and home working for its staff. The extent to which flexible and home working can be encouraged in the public sector is dependent on the nature of individual posts.

  The Scottish Government supports the expansion of flexible and homeworking policies across the public sector but believe that it is for individual organisations to decide upon the policy best suited to the needs of its staff and business environment, within the context of the existing legal framework.

Fisheries

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give any consideration to banning vessels from fishing for spurdog on Scottish sea lochs during the height of the spurdog breeding season.

Richard Lochhead: Scientific advice indicates that spurdog can be vulnerable to over exploitation and recommends that there should be no targeted fishing. Whilst current EU legislation prohibits such a fishery in the North Sea, the prohibition does not apply to the North East Atlantic area. Consideration is currently being given at the EU level to extending the prohibition to all EU waters.

Marine Environment

Liam McArthur (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to raise awareness among oil industry brokers of the ship-to-ship oil transfer options available at Scapa Flow.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Executive has no role in promoting operational activities of specific harbour authorities. That is a matter for the ports sector itself and for individual harbour authorities.

Planning

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish ministers and local authority councillors and officials can take into account any other factors, other than those defined in planning law, when considering the merits, or otherwise, of planning applications.

Stewart Stevenson: Planning law requires all material considerations to be taken into account. Other factors would not be material to the determination of the application. Scottish Planning Policy 1 indicates the scope of material considerations.

Population

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 16 to 18 year-olds live in the (a) Dundee City, (b) Angus and (c) Aberdeenshire local authority areas.

John Swinney: Mid-2006 population estimates for these local authority areas is available from the General Register Office for Scotland website through the following link:

  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/population-estimates/mid-2006-population-estimates-scotland/list-of-tables.html.

Post Offices

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it will use to determine applications for funding to sustain local postal services, in addition to the resources being made available by Her Majesty’s Government.

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will support business in post offices by ensuring that local authorities offer facilities for paying council tax, rent and traffic fines, applying for housing, council tax benefit and disabled parking badges and examining planning applications and other online applications at local post offices.

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that local authorities offer maximum rate relief to post offices in each local authority area.

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide resources for full business rate relief for post offices that are linked to shops, filling stations or other local facilities.

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what criteria it considers should be applied in a strategic network of post offices and what funding it could provide to assist funding such a network.

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what it considers to be an appropriate level of subsidy for post offices and for how long such subsidy should be paid.

John Swinney: Officials are currently examining the Department of Trade and Industry’s plans for the Post Office network to see where the Scottish Executive can add value. We will seek to do all we can within our devolved powers to secure the best possible outcome for Scotland. Ministers will shortly meet with representatives from Royal Mail Group to discuss the Scottish context in more detail.

Public Health

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of increased health risk there would be from the transport and installation of a replacement system for Trident.

Shona Robison: Public health risks associated with the transport and handling of Defence Nuclear Materials are addressed by provisions currently in place.

  The MOD maintains contingency plans to deal with accidents and conducts regular nuclear accident response exercises designed to test these plans.

  The Radiation (Emergency Preparedness and Public Information) Regulations 2001 sets down the requirements and responsibilities of operators, carriers and local authorities in responding to a reasonably foreseeable radiation emergency.

  The Scottish Government is opposed to a replacement system for trident.

Public Transport

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the delivery of the Edinburgh trams scheme; when a decision will be made on the scheme, and how it intends the Parliament to be involved in arriving at that decision.

Stewart Stevenson: Scottish ministers have invited Audit Scotland to review the procedures used to forecast costs and assess risk for the proposed Edinburgh tram project.

  The review will cover the approach, the methodology and the scope of the assessment used to identify costs and risks.

  Audit Scotland will report by 20 June. Ministers will consider the report and set out their position to Parliament before the summer recess.

Rail Network

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Network Rail concerning any threat to the Borders railway if the Edinburgh Airport link scheme, approved by the Parliament, progresses.

Stewart Stevenson: No discussions of this nature have taken place between the Scottish Executive and Network Rail.

Rail Network

Jeremy Purvis (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will reaffirm its commitment to fund the Borders railway.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Executive has previously committed to contribute £115 million at 2002 prices, adjusted for inflation, towards the cost of the Borders railway.

Rail Network

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to enable regular rail commuters to purchase "flexi tickets" to Inverness from starting points north of Tain on the Far North Line.

Stewart Stevenson: First ScotRail have introduced Flexipass tickets on a number of routes where they have evaluated it will be commercially effective. Introduction of Flexipass remains a commercial matter for First ScotRail. First ScotRail currently have no plans to roll-out these tickets further, including points north of Tain on the Far North Line.

Rail Services

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to increase the number of places available for cycles on trains between Inverness and Caithness.

Stewart Stevenson: The 25 trains units that operate on this line are currently undergoing a rolling programme of improvement works funded by the Scottish Executive. This will see internal refurbishment work on all class 158 units, including installing new cycle storage facilities to allow four cycles to be carried securely on each train.

Roads

David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of land required for the dualling of the A9 is currently owned by the roads authority.

Mr Stewart Stevenson: The extent of land required for dualling of the A9, and the percentage of that already in our ownership can only be established when detailed design work is undertaken.

Roads

Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to upgrade the A82 Tarbet to Crianlarich trunk road.

Stewart Stevenson: The A82 Tarbet to Fort William Action Plan recommended a 10 year improvement programme at a cost of £90 million. The outcome of this study will feed into the Strategic Transport Projects Review which will examine the needs of our national strategic transport corridors. This is due to report in summer 2008.

  Meantime, Transport Scotland is planning a £16 million improvement package to be delivered over the next five years. This package includes improvements at Pulpit Rock between Tarbet and Ardlui, a Western Bypass at Crianlarich, additional road safety measures, new lay-bys and picnic sites.

  Road maintenance works have recently been completed on two sections of the A82 between Tarbet and Crianlarich in the vicinity of Pulpit Rock.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Scottish Executive

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it maximises productivity gains from the more effective use of existing technology, including information and management systems.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government’s plans for the efficient and effective use of existing technology are incorporated within its corporate strategy and information and communications technology programme.

Supermarkets

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will implement independent regulation to ensure that supermarkets give space to fresh local and seasonal produce and what sanctions will be taken if supermarkets do not comply with any such regulation.

Richard Lochhead: We will be consulting primary producers, processors and the supermarkets on how best to ensure fresh local and seasonal produce is given adequate space and clear signage in retail outlets across Scotland. We are keen to increase our efforts in this area.

Water Charges

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans, in conjunction with Scottish Water, to review water and sewerage charges.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Executive intends to consult on its principles of charging for the period 2010-14 in the autumn.

Water Charges

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider the further extension of the water and sewerage charge exemption scheme for churches and charitable organisations beyond its scheduled end date in 2010.

Stewart Stevenson: The Scottish Executive’s general policy is that all customers, including charitable organisations and other organisations which serve a public function, should contribute to the cost of the water services that they use. Some of these organisations are currently exempt from paying water services charges under the water services charges exemption scheme.

  The Executive previously extended this scheme from 2006-10 to allow more time for these organisations to prepare to pay for their water services. It now intends to consult on its wider principles of charging (including its consideration of the exemption scheme) for 2010-14, which it expects to publish in the autumn.

Water Charges

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider any discount measures for churches and charitable organisations should it decide not to renew the current water and sewerage charge exemption scheme beyond 2010.

Stewart Stevenson: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-326 on 8 June 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .